PART I The Historical and Literary Background 1. The Historical Background Late Antiquity to Early Islam : Continuity or Change ? Identity and Allegiance Apocalypticism 2. The Nature of the Sources Redactional Identity and Unavowed Authorship Orality Dialectic and Debate

PART III Writing the History of Early Islam 12. Non-Muslim Conceptions of Islam The Tool of God’s Wrath Deliverance from the Wicked Kingdom An Age of Adversity The Fourth Beast Abrahamic/Primitive Monotheism The New Jews A Worldly Religion 13. Using Non-Muslim Sources : an Empirical Approach Islam in the First Century AH Sacred Direction in Islam The Conquest of Egypt 14. Using Non-Muslim Sources : an Argumentative Approach What is the Source of the Observation ? What is the Character of the Observation ? What is the Subject of the Observation ? PART IV Excurses A. The Canons and Resolutions of Jacob of Edessa Questions of Addai Canons of Jacob Further Questions of Addai Questions of Thomas Questions of John Questions of Abraham B. The Byzantine-Arab Chronicle of 741 and Its Eastern Source C. An Outline of the Syriac Common Source D. The Passion of David of Dwin E. Georgian Historical Writing F. Dated Arabic Writings, AH 1-135/622-752 Dated Writings before AH 72/691 Religious Declarations by Caliphs in Dated Writings of AH 72-135/691-752 Maps Bibliography I : Primary Sources Bibliography II : Secondary Sources Index